4.24.2016

INDIA // Holi.

Before the Color Run, lets say.... borrowed the idea of throwing colored powder all over each other in celebration from the Indians and made all Americans think we invented it, I remember seeing photos from Holi years ago and thinking it looked like the absolute most fun you could possibly have.

I decided that whenever I made it to India I was going to make sure it fell on Holi, a festival that celebrates the triumph of good over evil, welcomes the arrival of spring, and wishes a colorful life.

We got to have a small introduction with some of our kids the day before, filled with hundreds of tiny hands full on powder bombing me straight in the face, followed by the sweetest, "happy holi ma'am!". I laughed uncontrollably every single time and powder bombed them right back, as you do. They also let me photograph their beautiful rainbow faces, some of my favorites from the entire trip. That night we headed to Jaipur on the sketchiest overnight bus I've ever taken traveling ("it will be fine!" will be my famous last words) and had a full blown Holi on the official holiday.

IT WAS SUCH A PARTY! In the morning we joined hundreds of people gathered festival style in a random dirt lot in the middle of Jaipur and danced for hours to Indian pop music blasting from the stage (I had THIS song stuck in my head for weeks after). I think I may have gotten my face powdered, shouted "HAPPY HOLI!", and was hugged by every single person at the place. There were fireworks and colorful smoke bombs and it was just exactly what I had imagined it would be.

We spent the entire rest of the day drinking giant beers up on the roof of our hotel. We sang songs from each other's iPods very loud and very badly, I blessed everyone's forehead with blue powder I found behind the bar, and I laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

This day was truly one of the happiest of my life and with people who were complete strangers only weeks before. The doing of the thing is the thing.
































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